The growing demand for emergency food

The items donated to Trussell Trust foodbanks help those who require them in a crisis.

Published:16:00Saturday 03 May 2014

The Trussell Trust Foodbanks have experienced extraordinary growth each year - increasing more than 100 per cent each time.

A total of 346,992 people used a foodbank in the 2012/13 financial year and in the 2013/14 financial year, 913,138 men, women and children used a Trussell Trust foodbank which was a 163 percent increase on the previous financial year.

Chris Mould, the chairman of the Trussell Trust, said: “This figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Unless there is determined policy action to ensure that the benefits of national economic recover reach people on low incomes, we won’t see life get better for the poorest anytime soon.

“Changing the sanctions regime, increasing the minimum wage, introducing the living wage and looking at other measures such as social tariffs for essentials like energy would help address the problem of UK hunger.”

At the end of March 2014, there were 40 open foodbanks in Scotland, who collected approximately 691 tonnes of food through generous donations from churches, schools, supermarket customers and other individuals and groups.

Approximately 482 tonnes of the food donated was distributed to individuals and families experiencing financial hardship within the same financial year, leaving a surplus that will continue to be distributed throughout the current financial year.

In Angus, a total of 1,238 people received help from a Trussell Trust foodbank.

Ewan Gurr, the Scotland Development Officer for the Trussell Trust, told the Review: “Foodbanks are an incredible community response to crisis but the pressure people are experiencing in Scotland is cause for concern.

“Benefit delays highlight a faulty infrastructure that can instantaneously plunge people into food poverty.”